Quality Universe
In Quality Comics' comic books of 1940 and 1941, the Mongolians were a military threat rivaling that of Japan. * In Crack Comics (#12), and in (#18), the Red Torpedo fought "Mongolese" submariners, aviators, and soldiers, in the western Pacific Ocean. * In National Comics (#1, etc.), Wonder Boy fought a vast army of invading Mongolians on the eastern frontier of Europe. After 1941-12, plus a time lag for publishing and distribution, only the non-fictional European countries appeared, and the Mongolians had been replaced by the Japanese. WWII, Multiple Beginnings In the Quality Universe, the Second World War was marked by several false starts and false finishes: * In Smash Comics #5 (Dec 1939), the USA became so well-armed and powerful that all the nations in Europe decided to make peace rather than risk war with America. "The United States could wipe Europe off the map in a year. We must sign the peace pacts offered by their president, and disarm at once." * In Smash Comics #7 (Feb 1940), after several Axis armadas had failed to fight their way past the Pan-American Caldwell Line, from Europe to the Western Atlantic, "the dictators capitulate and an armistice is signed in Geneva. World peace is now a reality." * In Smash Comics #9 (April 1940), upon Motler's death, world peace was declared, and Poland was restored. * In National Comics #1 (July 1940), Merlin wrestled the god Mars until he cried for mercy, at which time: "The peace is signed. ... In every city, great joy fills the streets as mothers, wives, and sweethearts greet their loved ones." * In Hit Comics #2 (Aug 1940), the European part of the war, and the career of Dictator Radolf, were brought to an end with a written declaration. "The world rejoices as the tyrant's signature ends the war, and news of his retirement from public affairs reaches the people." * In Hit Comics #4 (Oct 1940), the Kampflandic invasion of North America was brought to an end with a non-aggression pact and a peaceful trade agreement, negotiated between the U.S.President and the surviving leaders of the Kampflandic army. “''The soldiers and tourists join hands in a firm understanding of peace and brotherhood. Instead of the roar of guns, the lilting strains of dance music mingle with the chatter all along the ramp.” The historical sequence of these events is not known with certainty, and it is possible that some, but not all, of them occurred simultaneously. WWII, American Entry In the Quality Universe the Second World War began for the United States, in late 1941, when the Germans and Japanese coordinated their initial attacks on the U.S., as seen in [[National_Comics_Vol_1_18#Synopsis_for_.22UNCLE_SAM.22|National Comics #18 ('Dec 1941')]]. Pre-War and Wartime Catastrophic Events: In this parallel world, the Axis and its agents inflicted many more severe setbacks, to the United States and its allies, than was the case in "nearby" universes. Domestic criminals and terrorists were also an extremely grave problem during to the run-up to WWII, and during the war itself. These events had no close parallels on Earth-Two, Earth-One, or Earth-S. Most or all of these events were never mentioned again in any subsequent story. These included: * In 1940 an unidentified foreign power aerially attacked New York City, with a dusting of madness-inducing microscopic insanity spores, causing the deaths of several hundred citizens, and madness of thousands, along with untold amounts of property damage, over several days. * In mid-1940, thousands were killed when Wonder Boy's flaming spacecraft crashed in Chicago. * In early 1941, a gang of domestic terrorists built an advanced electronic device, set in a large tower in the northern woods, that could and did drain the power from every dynamo in North America. This went on for several weeks, during which time the U.S. Army sent planes and troops to attack the tower. These were repulsed, with heavy casualties inflicted. Some time later, a citizen's committee came to the tower, to plead for a deal; the conspirators not only didn't relent, they lowered their ray guns and fried the gathered throng. Hit Comics #8, Hercules. * In 1941 the Capitol Building was set on fire by a raging mob of misled citizens, under the influence of a traitorous demogogue. * In late 1941 New York City was invaded a very large army of very large manlike giants, who paralyzed the entire population of the city with a gas attack. One vigilante with a bow and arrow was able to kill the leader of this Green Horde, and because their brains were all directly linked to their leader's brain, the entire army (claimed by their leader to be one hundred million strong) all died. * For a brief period in early 1942, the Luftwaffe was able to execute several small-scale bombing raids on New York City. They also made one large scale bombing raid, that summer. Cold War, Alliances and Alignments After the end of the Second World War, in the Quality Universe, the famous and popular Blackhawk Squadron enjoyed an incredible latitude of operational freedom, and functioned almost as a law unto themselves. This arrangement was formalized in 1948, in a secret meeting in Washington DC, in which a high-ranking official told Blackhawk: "We will invest you with complete power and authority to take immediate action! We'll back you to the hilt with all the concentrated power of the '''International Security Force'." By 1951, the United World (UW), led by its World Council, in its unnamed capital city, acted in the combined roles of the early UN and NATO and SEATO. Seemingly no dictatorships were members of UW. UW had its own armed forces. UW had, or seemed to have, direct authority over the Blackhawks. In the Quality Universe, the United World included, or at least defended: Badarstan, Belgium, Bolania, Borovar, Brosnia, Bulgania, Carabas, (Nationalist) China, Costa Marca, Denmark, Drozh, France, Grelhara, Italy, Kahara, Karlovna, Kimrouk, Kondida, Lashore, Liberra, Lorphah, Luxembourg, Malkaria, Malvania, Marlanx, Monclova, Netherlands, Nurvania, Otero, Pangoy, Porvay, Ranagia, South Korea, South Vietnam, Tacna, Ulma, West Germany, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Yugovia and others. In the Quality Universe, the Communist Bloc included: Albania, Azaria, Bulgaria, (Red) China, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, North Korea, North Vietnam, Poland, Romania, Rugaria, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and others. In the Quality Universe, unaligned Fascist Nations included: Spain, Viglandt, and others. In the Quality Universe, officially neutral and otherwise unaligned nations included: Andorra, Austria, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Liechtenstein, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, and others. Cold War, Catastrophic Events * Azaria, 1951: At the World Council's direction, the Blackhawks dropped a nuclear weapon on the populated capital of Azaria, and destroyed it. * Rugaria, 1952: An armaments factory and its surrounding region were destroyed with a "horror bomb". * Brosnia, 1953: The largest and second-largest cities in Brosnia were set on fire with an orbiting solar weapon. * unnamed European democracy, 1953: a secret city, concealed in a vast cavern, was destroyed with a hydrogen bomb. * Russia, 1956: A missile base in the Ural Mountains was destroyed by five Russian ICBMs. Other Forgotten Catastrophes In the Quality Universe, in addition to the Second World War and the Cold War, there were a number of Other Catastrophic Events, including successful terrorist attacks and large-scale criminality, perpetrated by renegade scientists, criminal masterminds, international terrorists, and other non-governmental entities. These events also had no close parallels in "nearby" universes, and most or all of them were never mentioned again in any subsequent story. These included: * In 1940, four coastal fortresses, a U.S.Naval task force, a squadron of U.S. bombers, and a regiment of U.S. troops were destroyed by an American mad scientist's explosives-detonating "invisible ray." * In 1941, ten tall buildings in Washington, D.C. were knocked down by an American renegade general's remote-control bombs, presumably killing and injuring hundreds or thousands of local people. * One week in 1954, the Pacific Island of Katung, and a remote stretch of the Chilean Andes, were both destroyed in the testing phase of a renegade scientist's advanced atomic explosive. Future History * Late in the 21st century, Vrak the Invincible will lead a vast array of Eurasian armed forces against the nations of the Western Hemisphere, single-handedly causing a world-wide war. * In the 31st century, the Earth's orbit will decay, causing the planet to approach the sun. This planetwide catastrophe compels all surviving Earth humans to retreat to the specially-built Solis City. It also results in cracking and quaking in the Earth's crust, and an invasion from a heretofore-unknown, extremely aggressive, race of "Core Men". Unusual Geography: A significant number of alien outposts, secret kingdoms, lost civilizations, and populations of extinct species existed uniquely in the Quality Universe, and many of these had no direct counterparts on "nearby" parallel worlds such as Earth-Two or Earth-S. Examples include: Africa: * In M'Bangi country, in Northern Africa, a phosphorescent oasis, where tigers live. Its waters had unique properties, and transformed one dying Foreign Legionnaire into an extremely powerful superhero. * In Ethiopia, on the side of the volcano Ras Dashin, was the impregnable fortress city of the M'Bujies, a race of superbeings. The city was destroyed in a volcanic event. Arctic: * Polar City, in a valley under tons of ice, and warmed by hot spring geysers, with mine shafts for gold, silver, and pitchblende. Polar City was destroyed when its insane ruler uncapped the hot geysers and allowed them to soften the overhead ice. * A lost tropical valley, within a few miles of the magnetic north pole, under tons of ice, with primitive humans and non-dinosaur giant animals. Atlantic * In 1940 a Transatlantic Bridge was completed, from Europe to America. Later that year the bridge was severed by an unknown superhero, and shortly later was repaired. Europe: * Castle Galwain: a lost settlement of medieval fake-Crusaders, in a blockaded narrow valley in a steep mountain range, undisturbed for 800 years, between Bulgania and (President Valga’s country). Castle Galwain was destroyed in an avalanche resulting from the blasting from a road-building project. * Karlovna's Underworld was, for many generations, literally a subterranean settlement of dwarfish primitive "Dragon People". * In Greece, the lost city of Vespis, the five ancient cities buried beneath Vespis, and the futuristic city buried beneath those. Latin America: * South America's unnamed isolated Inca city, with a helium mine nearby. North America: * In an unexplored corner of a tropical jungle in Florida is concealed the dangerous [[Plastic_Man_Vol_1_23#Appearing_in_.22The_Fountain_of_Age.22|'Fountain of Age']]. Residents * 711 * Ace of Space * The Black Condor * The Black X * Blackhawk * Bozo the Iron Man * Captain Triumph * The Clock * Death Patrol * Destiny * Doll Girl * Doll Man * Firebrand * The Ghost of Flanders * The Great Defender * Hugh Hazzard * The Human Bomb * The Invisible Hood * The Jester * Joe Hercules * Madame Fatal * Magno * Manhunter * The Marksman * Merlin * Midnight * Miss America * The Mouthpiece * Neon the Unknown * Phantom Lady * Plastic Man * Quicksilver * The Raven * The Ray * The Red Bee * The Red Torpedo * The Spider * The Spider Widow * Tor, the Magic Master * Uncle Sam * USA * The Voice * The Whistler * Wildfire * Wizard Wells * Wonder Boy * Zero, Ghost Detective Science & Technology: The properties of matter, laws of physics, and principles of chemistry were very different in the Quality Universe from those of our own world, or of "nearby" parallel universes such as Earth-Two or Earth-S. Extreme Chemistry * Van Dorn's phosphorescent-chemical Invisibility Formula, Mad Medicine * 1939, Professor Dwyer transplants the human brain of a mail-plane pilot into an enormous ape. This is the first recorded interspecies brain transplant in the Quality Universe. Mad Pharmacology Mad Psychiatry Mad Metallurgy * 1939, Livingston's "Livstong Steel", Monster Biology * 1939, Prof. Dwyer's ape with transplanted human brain, Improbable Physics Unorthodox Engineering Robots * 1939, Von Thorp's Iron Monster, Sensors, Computers, Communications * 1939, Hazzard's teleradio, * 1939, Hazzard's super-seper-iconoscope, Vehicles Weapons * 1939, Cravin's aircraft-engine-disabling X-Beam, * 1939, Dwyer's Incandescent Death Ray, * 1939, His Excellency's aircraft-engine-disabling ultra-sonic weapon, This may be the same weapon that the late Ellis Cravin developed, earlier that same year. | Notes = * Earth-Quality is the formal name given to this reality by The Official Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Index. * Earth-Quality is DC's oldest officially recognized alternate reality. * Although Kid Eternity was originally published by Quality, his stories also take place on the parallel Earth-S (as revealed in ). The same is true for Her Highness and Silk, who were started in Kid Eternity stories before getting their own feature. * Quality's "funny animal" stories take place in the Quality Funny Animal Universe. * Many Quality Comics characters had counterparts on Earth-Two, who migrated, in three groups, from that world to Earth-X. Their adventures diverged, (in Summer 1941, on 23 February 1942, and on 1 April 1942), from those of the Quality Universe versions of these characters. ** Pearl Harbor migration, Summer 1941: *** Hourman (later returned to Earth-Two) *** Invisible Hood *** Magno *** Miss America *** Neon *** Red Torpedo *** Uncle Sam (later returned to Earth-Two) ** Santa Barbara migration, February 1942: *** Black Condor *** Doll Man *** Human Bomb *** Phantom Lady *** The Ray *** Red Bee *** Uncle Sam (later returned to Earth-Two) ** Final migration, April 1942: *** Black Condor (again) *** Blackhawk Squadron *** Doll Man (again) *** Firebrand *** Human Bomb (again) *** Jester *** Manhunter *** Midnight *** Phantom Lady (again) *** Plastic Man *** Quicksilver *** Ray (again) *** Spider *** Uncle Sam (again) | Trivia = | Links = }}